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Finding North

1999, Movie, NR, 100 mins

Finding North: Review

FINDING NORTH
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Somewhere between a needlessly complicated premise and a shamelessly contrived climax, there's a sweet and sensitive story gasping for breath. About to turn 30, Ronda Portelli (Wendy Makkena) lives in Flatbush with parents and still dreams of meeting the guy who will say he loves her and mean it. Out one night with friends, Rhonda spots a naked man perched on the Triborough Bridge, ready to take the plunge. "Oh my Gawd, a jumpah!" she cries, and runs to his rescue. But the naked stranger is gone, leaving behind a suede Hush Puppy. A few days later, suicidal Cinderella Travis (John Benjamin Hickey) just happens to show up at the bank where Rhonda works. He still plans on checking out — the recent death of his lover Bobby has left him despondent — but first wants to empty his bank account. It takes Rhonda a while to connect this handsome stranger (whom she mistakenly assumes is straight) and the jumper; once she does, she insinuates herself into his life with the kind of persistence usually found in celebrity stalkers. Rhonda even follows him to Texas, where a trail of audio cassettes left behind by Bobby guide the unlikely duo on a sentimental journey into a dead man's past. The best parts of this first feature film from director Tanya Wexler and screenwriter Kim Powers include scenes like the one in which Rhonda and Travis discuss what it's like to be gay or straight (the upshot: neither is easy). The worst include a silly, under-the-gun climax that seriously unsettles the delicate balance between the two lead characters. Still, Makkena (one of SISTER ACT's singing nuns) is wonderful: With big hair and lotsa gold, she plays the bridge-and-tunnel Brooklyn girl with heart and originality, and pulls humor from Powers' script even when there isn't all that much there. leave a comment --Ken Fox
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